Mid-engined Corvette 'confirmed'

The much-rumored mid-engined Corvette project has been unexpectedly confirmed by a senior Saab source.

The engineer revealed in a trade magazine that Saab’s engineers had developed a double-clutch transmission for a "mid-engined version of the Corvette" when Saab was General Motors' centre of competence for those systems.

The source also revealed that the wet-clutch transmission was designed to cope with up to 590lbft of torque, only marginally less than delivered by today’s Corvette ZR-1 V8.

The news of the DCT project confirms just how serious GM was about shifting to a mid-engined layout for the new-generation car.

It’s thought that the mid-engined Corvette concept was fully engineered but became a victim of the credit crunch in 2008.

However, the latest rumours from the US suggest the mid-engined layout is now back on the agenda for the next-generation C8 Corvette, which is expected to arrive in five years’ time.

GM bosses are also said to be considering downsizing to a V6 engine, probably backed up by turbochargers. The C8 could also be more compact and lighter, possibly using more aluminium in its construction.

There have been numerous mid-engined Corvette concepts since the 1960s; the last concept to feature such a layout was the CERV III in 1990 (above).

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A Corvette always has been and always will be a front-engined, lazy pushrod V8-powered monster with a manual gearbox as far as I'm concerned. Yes, I know the first one had a straight-six, and even today the auto slushbox is a popular choice, but still. A mid-engined, twin-turbo V6 sports car with a dual-clutch transmission may be good, but it done got itself out of the Corvette brand and all its history etc...

Tooooooooo right there shouldn't!,but a change in direction wouldn't go amiss like an aluminium body or carbonfibre, fibreglass is so 60's, maybe they should let the Italians have a go at the new body too?,what kind of car would we get then?, maybe, dare i say it, break with tradition and stick a Merc engine in it?, why not?

Tooooooooo right there shouldn't!,but a change in direction wouldn't go amiss like an aluminium body or carbonfibre, fibreglass is so 60's, maybe they should let the Italians have a go at the new body too?,what kind of car would we get then?, maybe, dare i say it, break with tradition and stick a Merc engine in it?, why not?

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Aluminium bodywork? That would make it heavier! It's already got an aluminium/magnesium spaceframe chassis... and carbonfibre would make it more expensive (the Corvette has always been about value for money - £100,000 for 640bhp is incredible value).

Also, why buy in the engine that powers one of your rivals - the Merc SLS - when you've got a perfectly good V8 of your own, well-proven, bulletproof reliable, sonorous, and a hell of a lot cheaper to build than a bespoke AMG V8? The LS9 (ZR1 engine) is just an LS3 with a supercharger. Same goes for the CTS-V's LSA (smaller supercharger). The LS3 and its variants are used in a hell of a lot of GM cars - the Camaro, the CTS-V, the Corvette C6, the Corvette ZR-1, various Commodore-based Holdens, the Pontiac G8 (well, that's dead now, and it was just an Aussie Holden anyway), the Vauxhall VXR8 (ditto)... it's produced on a much greater scale than the AMG V8, it's produced much more cheaply.

Oh, and that's before we get on to the bored-out 7-litre, used in the Corvette Z06 and a Holden... or other similar variants of the 6.2-litre engine used in a load of GM pickups and SUVs.

I didn’t think there was anything left of that dead horse to beat upon. They have been talking about this for ages with the same predictable result; it doesn’t happen. Duntov had mid-engine prototypes as early as 1959 and 51 years later you still have a front engine car. I don’t doubt they have a wet clutch transmission in works, who doesn’t, forget about the mid-engine and the V6 though because it just won’t happen. Pratt & Miller have some nice clay mock ups though…

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You don’t need a weathermanTo know which way the wind blows—Robert Allen Zimmerman

[quote jackjflash]I didn’t think there was anything left of that dead horse to beat upon. They have been talking about this for ages with the same predictable result; it doesn’t happen. Duntov had mid-engine prototypes as early as 1959 and 51 years later you still have a front engine car. I don’t doubt they have a wet clutch transmission in works, who doesn’t, forget about the mid-engine and the V6 though because it just won’t happen. Pratt & Miller have some nice clay mock ups though…[/quote]

They haven't messed with the formula because it works. The Corvette, although not entirely without flaws, is a very good car, and excellent value for money for what it is...

[quote Peter Cavellini]Tooooooooo right there shouldn't!,but a change in direction wouldn't go amiss like an aluminium body or carbonfibre, fibreglass is so 60's, maybe they should let the Italians have a go at the new body too?,what kind of car would we get then?, maybe, dare i say it, break with tradition and stick a Merc engine in it?, why not? [/quote]

Go to the FIA GT3 website and watch some of the races, the Callaway and Graff Corvette teams are dominating Ferrari, BMW, Lambo, Audi and Porsche. They keep adding weight to the Vette and restricting the engine and it keeps winning. Although the latest weight addition might help their cause, 110 KG now added to the Vette in attempt to slow them down. In GT4 the standard Vette is the only car to get a restrictor; so why would they want to put a gutless torque challenged engine from Mercedes in there?

You don’t need a weathermanTo know which way the wind blows—Robert Allen Zimmerman

£80,000 for a Nissan GTR?,maybe doesn't have the power, but the tech renders it irrelevant, pedigree? how many vettes do you see regularily?, £106,000 get you a TURBO Porsche, definately more royal than what was America's default sportscar, for the extra £6K, i'd take the Porsche.

£80,000 for a Nissan GTR?,maybe doesn't have the power, but the tech renders it irrelevant, pedigree? how many vettes do you see regularily?, £106,000 get you a TURBO Porsche, definately more royal than what was America's default sportscar, for the extra £6K, i'd take the Porsche.

[quote jackjflash]Go to the FIA GT3 website and watch some of the races, the Callaway and Graff Corvette teams are dominating Ferrari, BMW, Lambo, Audi and Porsche. They keep adding weight to the Vette and restricting the engine and it keeps winning. Although the latest weight addition might help their cause, 110 KG now added to the Vette in attempt to slow them down. In GT4 the standard Vette is the only car to get a restrictor; so why would they want to put a gutless torque challenged engine from Mercedes in there?[/quote]

Why are they penalising the Vette for being a better car? That's like fixing a billboard to the engine cover of Red Bull's F1 cars to upset the airflow and the handling...

[quote Straight Six Man]Why are they penalising the Vette for being a better car? That's like fixing a billboard to the engine cover of Red Bull's F1 cars to upset the airflow and the handling... [/quote]

Because FIA GT is about equalization so all cars perform in a like manner. Most types of racing have always adjusted the participant cars to the lowest common denominator, usually the Porsche as they are generally the weakest link. What is really awful about FIA GT is that they constantly change the minimum weight of cars throughout the season; I am not referring to success ballast which is added to the winning cars of a particular race, but all cars of the same make whether they are winning or not. So if you are driving a particular car make and not winning, but someone else in the same make is winning you suffer the same weight penalty, which to me seems unfair. You can just about figure what car will do well by following the bulletins posted on the FIA website. The Corvette Z06R had recently gained 100KG and had an additional 10KG added for good measure to assure no Corvette will win the next race. On the other hand Audi has been given a small amount of additional weight but more horsepower. Expect to see Porsche, Audi, and BMW at the front of the pack in the next GT3 race, with Vettes most likely to the middle/back of the pack.

You don’t need a weathermanTo know which way the wind blows—Robert Allen Zimmerman